I just bought a 98 civic lx and the driver side door lock doesnt work. If the door is closed the lock works fine but if the door is open, it will not lock the door. I can hear the actuator working so i know that is not the problem. I went to the junk yard for a replacement lock assembly and found only 1 match, which ended up having the same problem as mine. Is this a common problem. I looked at the assembly and couldn't figure out what the problem was so if anyone has insight on how to fix it, let me know.

Thanks,
Bryan

 

Try holding the door handle open while locking it. Honda's have a safety feature on their door locks, to help against locking your keys in the car. It's supposed to make you lock the door with your keys on the outside, so you know for a fact the keys aren't stuck on the inside.

 

civic spoon is right. u can't lock the doors while the driver side door is open........it has to be closed..then it shall lock. but if u would like to lock it while the door is open then the pull handle has to be engaged prior to locking the door.

 

I've never heard of that before; it definitely worked. Thank you SO much for the good tips and for saving me some $$ .

 

When I get out of my car I just hold the inner door handle open and flip the lock button then close the door, but don't forget your keys!